I have been told, on a number of occasions, how lucky I am to work from home. It’s not something I take for granted, believe me- especially when it’s a cold, wet, winters’ morning outside. Other people by their thousands are shivering at bus stops, nursing a coffee in peak-hour traffic or herding onto trains packed with other damp commuters, bound for another day at the office. Meanwhile I’m sitting on my living room couch, coffee mug in hand, organising the day ahead of me and grateful for being warm and rugged up as I watch the rain fall outside my balcony window. I am also grateful for the fact that while other people complain about their bosses, if I were to complain about my boss I would be in fact complaining about myself! At least I know he’s somebody I can negotiate with…
Yet despite the perks like these, there are aspects to my work environment that are difficult to manage on a daily basis. It’s fairly common for me to encounter a feeling of disconnect from the world, sheltered inside my home while the people outside go about their day, interact with other people and see more than just the familiar walls of their home. I feel cut-off. An e-mail or phone call to somebody in my business circle just doesn’t suffice- neither does a walk down to the supermarket. As I’m sure anybody who works from home can attest to, it can be difficult to go about your daily professional tasks with those feelings of restlessness or isolation building up inside by the minute…
If I have learnt anything from my work environment it’s that in order for your mental output to consistently match your ability or level of expertise, the physical side must have constant attention paid to it- or productivity suffers in the long-term. If we ignore the basic need for physical stimulation or real-life interaction with people, our thinking goes stale. The fluorescent lights in our brain factory begin to flicker or suffer frequent brown-outs. Browsing social media or YouTube becomes an appealing temptation, under the premise that you’ll “only” do it for 5 minutes because you need a break. Or (like me) you’ll get up from your seat and go to the fridge- only to forget what you’re even looking for once you open the door!
We’ve long heard about the value of “hard work”, yet I believe that hard work is an out-dated term. Hard work was a valued ethic in the Industrial age- people went to work and by the end of the day, satisfied their physical/ mental fatigue over drinks (hot or cold) in the knowledge that they’d “worked hard”. Think of the old beer ads: ‘I feel like a Tooheys or two’, ‘I can feel a XXXX coming on’- always featuring sweaty, exhausted people who’d truly earned that refreshing beverage after a days' “hard work”. They felt ready to go home, have dinner, sit in front of the television (or the wireless before that) shower then go to bed. Sure they’d be exhausted from the day just gone and they’d have to do it all again the following day, but this was perfectly acceptable because they’d worked hard and that was all that mattered. According to general consensus, that was how you got ahead in your profession- long hours and hard work- with a couple of small mercies at the end of the day and a pay cheque at the end of the week to make it seem worthwhile.
We’ve long heard about the value of “hard work”, yet I believe that hard work is an out-dated term. Hard work was a valued ethic in the Industrial age- people went to work and by the end of the day, satisfied their physical/ mental fatigue over drinks (hot or cold) in the knowledge that they’d “worked hard”. Think of the old beer ads: ‘I feel like a Tooheys or two’, ‘I can feel a XXXX coming on’- always featuring sweaty, exhausted people who’d truly earned that refreshing beverage after a days' “hard work”. They felt ready to go home, have dinner, sit in front of the television (or the wireless before that) shower then go to bed. Sure they’d be exhausted from the day just gone and they’d have to do it all again the following day, but this was perfectly acceptable because they’d worked hard and that was all that mattered. According to general consensus, that was how you got ahead in your profession- long hours and hard work- with a couple of small mercies at the end of the day and a pay cheque at the end of the week to make it seem worthwhile.
In this exciting new Digital age, with an increasingly diverse range of work and work environments available to us, I believe that “working hard” is being superseded by a new work ethic that enables every one of us to have a happier, more productive work/ life balance: working smart. The people who are now the most successful are not necessarily the ones working 50+ hours a week. The people who do the best are those who manage their time and abilities the most efficiently. They use the resources available to them to fine-tune their working lives so that they are getting the most productivity out of the least time/ effort needed to fully achieve their professional goals.
So in this age of working smart, how do I keep myself from getting cabin-fever and walking aimlessly around my place, talking to myself for lack of personal interaction during the day on a Monday-Friday basis? How do I avoid the evil lure of day-time television or awakening from a daze to discover I have spent the past half an hour on YouTube, searching for a song I can recall hearing at Primary school discos but can’t recall the name of?
So in this age of working smart, how do I keep myself from getting cabin-fever and walking aimlessly around my place, talking to myself for lack of personal interaction during the day on a Monday-Friday basis? How do I avoid the evil lure of day-time television or awakening from a daze to discover I have spent the past half an hour on YouTube, searching for a song I can recall hearing at Primary school discos but can’t recall the name of?
I avoid these time wasting traps by paying as much attention to my physical ability to work as my mental ability. Monday is planning day for me- I’ll go for a walk in the morning, think about everything I want/ need to get done in the upcoming week and list anything that comes to mind on my phone. I can walk long distances- sometimes I’ll even cross the Storey Bridge on foot, stroll through the busy CBD and then catch the train home. Even if I frequently walk the same route, seeing what’s happening in the outside world, being amongst people and dwelling upon what I want from the week ahead while exercising my lower body and building stamina, all leaves me feeling refreshed and energised by the time I return home. By that stage, I’m excited and inspired about the week ahead and I can’t wait to transfer the notes and flashes of inspiration recorded from my phone to my weekly planner! It could have been cold, overcast and windy outside but it doesn’t matter to me, because at least I got to experience the day outside for myself. A couple of hours spent on that Monday morning walk, ultimately saves me more hours wasted by procrastination during the week.
Working as a professional writer means that I have to pay attention to keeping my mind sharp- when my brain is foggy and my focus is becoming more easily swayed, I know then it’s time to put some shoes on my feet, grab my iPod and go for a walk. If it’s not my Monday (planning day) walk, then I usually get this urge later of an afternoon. Either I’ve spent the better part of the day staring at my computer screen and/ or discussing projects, plans and meetings on the phone with people, or I still have a bit of work to do but am beginning to grow restless and easily distracted. So instead I grab my iPod and my keys on the way out the door, either to reward myself after a productive day in the office (I even sleep there so I like to think my dedication to the job is out of the question!) or to recharge my batteries in order to give upcoming tasks the attention they deserve.
Everybody’s work situation is different- I understand that for many of you reading this, you may not even work for yourself or at home. Whatever your circumstance, it is my strongest recommendation that you find a way to physically (and mentally) exercise- because not only does this have a positive effect on your health and your general happiness, but I guarantee you’ll see positive changes in the quality of your work, too. Perhaps (like me) you can even find a way to combine your physical out-put (whatever it may be) with fine-tuning your professional out-put?
Everybody’s work situation is different- I understand that for many of you reading this, you may not even work for yourself or at home. Whatever your circumstance, it is my strongest recommendation that you find a way to physically (and mentally) exercise- because not only does this have a positive effect on your health and your general happiness, but I guarantee you’ll see positive changes in the quality of your work, too. Perhaps (like me) you can even find a way to combine your physical out-put (whatever it may be) with fine-tuning your professional out-put?